HR 3605
Strength in Diversity Act of 2025
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Bill overview
The Strength in Diversity Act of 2025 aims to improve diversity in public schools by establishing a grant program. This program will support eligible entities in developing and implementing strategies to reduce racial and socioeconomic isolation, focusing on increasing diversity within covered schools. The act provides funding for planning and implementation grants, with priority given to entities addressing racial isolation and those collaborating with community organizations.
Key provisions
- Establishes the Strength in Diversity Program to promote diversity in public schools.
- Provides planning and implementation grants to eligible entities.
- Prioritizes grants for programs addressing racial isolation and regional collaborations.
- Requires grant recipients to conduct assessments of student outcomes and school segregation.
- Mandates the development of family and community engagement plans.
- Authorizes a small percentage of funds for national and state activities related to the program.
- Sets durations for planning and implementation grants.
- Requires annual reporting on progress toward diversity goals.
Who is affected
- Public elementary and secondary schools
- State educational agencies
- Local educational agencies
- Parents and students
- School districts
Notable changes
- Focuses on addressing racial and socioeconomic isolation in schools.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 3605
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To establish the Strength in Diversity Program, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Strength in Diversity Act of 2025
.
The purpose of this Act is to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive strategies to address the effects of racial isolation or concentrated poverty by increasing diversity, including racial diversity and socioeconomic diversity, in covered schools.
The Secretary may, in any fiscal year, award—
planning grants to carry out the activities described in section 6(a);
implementation grants to carry out the activities described in section 6(b); or
both such planning grants and implementation grants.
The Secretary shall award grants under this section on a competitive basis, based on—
the quality of the application submitted by an eligible entity under section 5;
the likelihood, as determined by the Secretary, that the eligible entity will use the grant to improve student outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures described in section 7; and
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to the following eligible entities:
First, to an eligible entity that proposes, in an application submitted under section 5, to use the grant to support a program that addresses racial isolation.
A planning grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not more than 2 years.
An implementation grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not more than 3 years, except that the Secretary may extend an implementation grant for an additional 2-year period if the eligible entity receiving the grant demonstrates to the Secretary that the eligible entity is making significant progress, as determined by the Secretary, on the program performance measures described in section 7.
In order to receive a grant under section 4, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. Such application shall include—
a description of the program for which the eligible entity is seeking a grant, including—
how the eligible entity proposes to use the grant to improve the academic and life outcomes of students in racial or socioeconomic isolation in covered schools by supporting interventions that increase diversity for students in such covered schools;
in the case of an implementation grant, the implementation grant plan described in section 6(b)(1); and
evidence, or if such evidence is not available, a rationale based on current research, regarding how the program will increase diversity;
in the case of an eligible entity proposing to use any of the grant to benefit covered schools that are racially isolated, a description of how the eligible entity will identify and define racial isolation;
in the case of an eligible entity proposing to use any portion of the grant to benefit high-poverty covered schools, a description of how the eligible entity will identify and define income level and socioeconomic status;
a description of the plan of the eligible entity for continuing the program after the grant period ends;
a description of how the eligible entity will assess, monitor, and evaluate the impact of the activities funded under the grant on student achievement and student enrollment diversity, and teacher diversity;
an assurance that the eligible entity has conducted, or will conduct, robust parent and community engagement, while planning for and implementing the program, such as through—
public hearings or other open forums to inform the development of any formal strategy to increase diversity; and
outreach to parents and students, in a language that parents and students can understand, and consultation with students and families in the targeted district or region that is designed to ensure participation in the planning and development of any formal strategy to increase diversity;
an estimate of the number of students that the eligible entity plans to serve under the program and the number of students to be served through additional expansion of the program after the grant period ends;
an assurance that the eligible entity will—
cooperate with the Secretary in evaluating the program, including any evaluation that might require data and information from multiple recipients of grants under section 4; and
engage in the best practices developed under section 3(a)(2);
an assurance that, to the extent possible, the eligible entity has considered the potential implications of the grant activities on the demographics and student enrollment of nearby covered schools not included in the activities of the grant;
in the case of an eligible entity applying for an implementation grant, a description of how the eligible entity will—
implement, replicate, or expand a strategy based on a strong or moderate level of evidence (as described in subclause (I) or (II) of section 8101(21)(A)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A)(i))); or
test a promising strategy to increase diversity in covered schools;
in the case of an application by a consortium of local educational agencies, a specification of which agency is the lead applicant, and how the grant funds will be divided among the school districts served by such consortium; and
to assess and prevent the redrawing of school district lines in a manner that increases racial or socioeconomic isolation;
to assess the segregation impacts of new school construction proposals and to prioritize school construction funding that will foreseeably increase racial and economic integration; and
to include progress toward reduction of racial and economic isolation as a factor in the reports required under section 1111(h) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)).
Completing a comprehensive assessment of, with respect to the geographic area served by such eligible entity—
the educational outcomes and racial and socioeconomic stratification of children attending covered schools;
an analysis of the location and capacity of program and school facilities and the adequacy of local or regional transportation infrastructure; and
Developing and implementing a robust family, student, and community engagement plan, including, where feasible, public hearings or other open forums that would precede and inform the development of a formal strategy to improve diversity in covered schools.
Developing options, including timelines and cost estimates, for improving diversity in covered schools, such as weighted lotteries, revised feeder patterns, school boundary redesign, or regional coordination.
Developing an implementation plan based on community preferences among the options developed under paragraph (3).
Building the capacity to collect and analyze data that provide information for transparency, continuous improvement, and evaluation.
Each eligible entity that receives an implementation grant under section 4 shall implement a high-quality plan to support students in covered schools that includes—
a comprehensive set of strategies designed to improve academic outcomes for all students, particularly students of color and low-income students, by increasing diversity in covered schools;
evidence of strong family and community support for such strategies, including evidence that the eligible entity has engaged in meaningful family and community outreach activities;
goals to increase diversity, including teacher diversity, in covered schools over the course of the grant period;
collection and analysis of data to provide transparency and support continuous improvement throughout the grant period; and
a rigorous method of evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.
Each eligible entity that receives an implementation grant under section 4 may use the grant to carry out one or more of the following activities:
Recruiting, hiring, or training additional teachers, administrators, school counselors, and other instructional and support staff in new, expanded, or restructured covered schools, or other professional development activities for staff and administrators.
Investing in specialized academic programs or facilities designed to encourage inter-district school attendance patterns.
Developing or initiating a transportation plan for bringing students to and from covered schools, if such transportation is sustainable beyond the grant period and does not represent a significant portion of the grant received by an eligible entity under section 4.
Developing innovative and equitable school assignment plans.
The Secretary shall establish performance measures for the programs and activities carried out through a grant under section 4. These measures, at a minimum, shall track the progress of each eligible entity in—
increasing school readiness;
increasing student achievement and decreasing achievement gaps;
increasing high school graduation rates;
increasing readiness for postsecondary education and careers;
reducing school discipline rates; and
any other indicator the Secretary or eligible entity may identify; and
increasing diversity and decreasing racial or socioeconomic isolation in covered schools.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under section 4 shall submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, an annual report that includes—
a description of the efforts of the eligible entity to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity;
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
In this Act:
a publicly-funded early childhood education program;
a public elementary school; or
a public secondary school.
The term eligible entity means a State educational agency, a local educational agency, a consortium of such agencies, an educational service agency, or a regional educational agency that at the time of the application of such eligible entity has significant achievement gaps and socioeconomic or racial segregation within or between the school districts served by such entity.
The term publicly-funded early childhood education program means an early childhood education program (as defined in section 103(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(8))) that receives State or Federal funds.
No provision of this Act shall be construed to authorize any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system.